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Class of 2013: Alyssa Palazzo, Future Writer, Advocate

This article is part of a series featuring some of this year’s outstanding graduating students, nominated by their academic school or college or another University program in which they participated. Check for additional profiles of students in the Class of 2013 on UConn Today from now through Commencement.

It is hard to imagine that award-winning non-fiction author Alyssa Palazzo, a senior English major and women’s studies minor from Glastonbury, failed her English classes in middle school.

Since then, Palazzo has become involved in numerous creative writing projects, including working for UConn’s Creative Writing Program, writing press releases, and coordinating events for writers visiting UConn’s campus.

Sean Forbes, acting director of the Creative Writing Program and adjunct professor in the English Department, says Palazzo is a very hard worker.

“Alyssa is just really trying to leave her mark at UConn,” says Forbes.

Aside from her work at the Creative Writing Program, Palazzo has won numerous honors, including the 2012 Aetna Creative Non-Fiction Award for a piece called “Leave-Taking,” and again this year for a piece called “End Time.” Palazzo also won the 2012 and 2013 Collins Literary Prize.

Palazzo’s writing, including “Leave-Taking” and “End Time,” is inspired by her desire to speak out against domestic violence.

“People just don’t talk about sexual abuse and domestic violence,” says Palazzo. “When you put a feminist twist on your work, you get criticized.”

Palazzo got a taste of negative criticism from readers when The Hartford Courant published her short essay about violence against women in its young essayist column called “Fresh Talk” this February.

“I had one awful comment, but then I got eight emails from people saying how happy they were that I wrote about domestic violence,” Palazzo says.

Apart from creating her own work, Palazzo also enjoys working with other authors as the editor-in-chief of UConn’s award-winning literary magazine, the Long River Review. The Long River Review, in conjunction with UConn’s Design Center, publishes a collection of UConn students’ fiction, non-fiction, poetry, original translations, and artwork.

“We really try to publish work that makes us physically react,” says Palazzo. “We want pieces that evoke an emotion.”

Darcie Dennigan, assistant professor-in-residence in the English Department and faculty advisor for the Long River Review, says Palazzo has an ambitious vision for the magazine.

Join us for a talk by Gina Barreca,2018 UCONN BOARD OF TRUSTEESDISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

All great works of fiction, poetry and dramaâas well as texts forming mythologies, religions, national epics to heroic sagasâhave loneliness at the heart of their narrative. From Persephone to Peter Pan, from âFrankensteinâ to âFrozen,â the stories we pass along are saturated with unwilling isolation.âOnly around half of Americans say they have meaningful, daily face-to-face social interactions,â according to a 2017 study. A former U.S. Surgeon General argues that âWe live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s.â We need more than social media. We need social contact. We need community. How can we break through the loneliness barrier? Being alone when in need of companionship is more than sad; itâs an epidemic.Chronic loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. We need to change our national story and, often, our personal ones as well.Even the concept of the âlone wolfâ is a myth. Wolves hunt in packs.

Reception to follow.

For more information about this event, or if you are an individual who requires special accommodation to participate, please contact the CLAS Deanâs Office at (860) 486-2713.

A liberal arts and sciences degree prepares students with the tools they need to excel across a wide range of careers. Given the number of options available to you, it can be overwhelming to narrow down career choices. Attending CLAS Career Night will provide you exposure to career opportunities for CLAS students.

This semesterâs focus will be on research-based careers. During this event you will engage with CLAS alumni, learn about various occupations, and gain insight about how to best prepare for your future career.

The McNair Scholars Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research invite you to join us for a brown bag research seminar.

Birds, Bacteria, and Bioinformatics: Why Evolutionary Biology is the Best

Sarah Hird, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology

This series is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, and is designed especially for students conducting (or interested in conducting) STEM research. These seminars are opportunities to learn about research being pursued around campus, to talk with faculty about their path into research, and to ask questions about getting involved in research.

About CLAS

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the academic core of learning and research at UConn. We are committed to the full spectrum of academics across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We give students a liberal arts and sciences education that empowers them with broad knowledge, transferable skills, and an ability to think critically about important issues across a variety of disciplines.